{"id":2159,"date":"2014-08-11T18:21:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-11T18:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/?p=2159"},"modified":"2023-05-16T13:16:06","modified_gmt":"2023-05-16T13:16:06","slug":"shared-space-and-traffic-calming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trafficsafetystore.com\/blog\/shared-space-and-traffic-calming\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Murals Not Mayhem: How Art Makes Us Better Drivers"},"content":{"rendered":"Picture the worst intersection you encounter on your commute to work. What would happen if the traffic lights were removed?\r\n\r\nChaos, right?\r\n\r\nAccording to some experts, eliminating signals can actually encourage considerate driving.\r\n\r\nThe most extreme example comes from Poynton, U.K. The intersection running through the center of this historic 16,000-person village serves 26,000 vehicles per day, including a number of commercial trucks.\r\n\r\nBack in 2011, traffic was tearing Poynton apart. Rush hour delays were lengthy and motorist frequently sped through green and yellow lights. Because pedestrians tended to get trapped in the middle of the four-lane highway, they avoided crossing it. Officials dubbed downtown a “traffic signal-controlled wasteland.”\r\n\r\nCity government, desperate to sew their quaint borough back together, sought help from Ben Hamilton-Baillie<\/a>, a vanguard planner who’s first suggestion was to take away the traffic lights. Instead of a traditional ‘X’ shaped intersection, Hamilton-Baillie suggested two disc-shaped ’roundels’ where the streets overlapped.\r\n
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\"PYbefore\"<\/a>\"\"<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n\r\nLocals were skeptical.\r\n\r\n“I think it’s a nightmare, if I dare to be honest,” said Kaye Loutit, a resident of Poynton interviewed in this video<\/a>. “Two roundels at a massively busy junction? People aren’t going to know what to do.”\r\n\r\nTen months and $6 million later, however, Poynton has been successfully “regenerated.” According to official monitoring, traffic now flows at the target speed of 16 to 17 mph (20 mph is the maximum ideal speed for pedestrian safety). \u00a0The streets have been narrowed into single lanes and walk space has doubled. People simply wave when they want to cross and no one waits at a traffic light.<\/span>\r\n\r\nThese changes have been accomplished without reducing the official 30 mph speed limit.<\/span>\r\n\r\nWhat’s particularly striking, aside from the lack of traffic signals, is these roundels are completely flat. Even the sidewalks have been leveled. The curb-free surface is composed from varying colors of cobblestone:\r\n

\"\"<\/p>\r\nAs motorists approach the roundels, they pass through tree-lined “gateways” displaying shiny metal “Poynton” signs. This announces the town ahead, beckoning drivers to slow down. The lack of signals at the intersection forces drivers to look around.\r\n\r\n“People are aware of the ‘slow down, look, then go,'” Poynton resident, Carlo Benincasa, explains later in the video. “That’s what’s been implemented here and it’s working fantastically.”\r\n\r\nHow does paint create dramatic change?\r\n\r\nThis is the essence of ‘shared space’ or ‘second-generation traffic calming.’ Take away the instructions — the signs, lights, and solid yellow lines — and drivers rely on their own resources to judge what is and is not safe. In other words, they pay attention.\r\n\r\nRadical as Poynton may seem, shared space is historically how streets functioned, particularly in urban centers where trolleys, pedestrians, street performers, and roadside merchants coexisted with personal vehicles. It wasn’t until the development of the Interstate Highway System and the resulting sprawl that we began to value traffic segregation and sought faster and faster cars.\r\n\r\nMost of the developing world still travels in shared space and transportation experts are beginning to note the advantages. The Dutch concept of Woofner or “living yard,” where cyclists and pedestrians are prioritized, is fast becoming the prevailing wisdom for transportation in Holland and the Netherlands. The town of Makkinga\u00a0hasn’t had traffic signs<\/a> for over 10 years.\r\n\r\nIn the U.K. successful advocates like Ben Hamilton-Baillie and Martin Cassini (who made the Poynton video) have helped to demonstrate the success of such reform. \u00a0In the U.S., a congested stretch<\/a> of Key West, Florida, improved after traffic signs were removed and streets were narrowed.\r\n\r\nWith or without signals, unexpected visuals — like the two-dimensional roundels — can play a major role in establishing shared space. Consider that a staggering number of accidents are caused by cognitive distraction — the interference that happens inside your head. Reorienting drivers to their physical environment is critical, especially in pedestrian-heavy zones, and traffic officials have been scrambling to figure out how do it. In Denmark they’ve taken this objective to an extreme, using public nudity<\/a> to encourage the speed limit.\r\n\r\n\"poyntongateway\"\r\n\r\nIn the U.S. shared space is largely dismissed as too experimental. Even supporters are weary of mixing road users where the predominant culture prizes individual opportunities over communal awareness. If you can’t get people to drive 55, how can you trust them to negotiate complex routes?\r\n\r\nDisability advocates, furthermore, question a safety strategy that relies on social cues claiming it threatens accessibility for the visually and hearing impaired. Cycling advocates argue that putting bikes and cars in the same space deters inexperienced cyclist. In fact, as the national advocacy group People for Bikes<\/a> has demonstrated, ridership in U.S. cities tends to increase substantially when cyclists have segregated lanes<\/a>.\r\n\r\nIt’s easy to see how ripping out street lights would be disastrous for the majority of U.S. roadways. But it might be useful for some, given the right context. Urban centers, for example, thrive on foot traffic but still want to provide some vehicle access. Likewise, family friendly neighborhoods worry about children’s safety but don’t want to keep kids locked in the house. These goals are only attainable once drivers acknowledge pedestrians have the right to be there.\r\n\r\nIt’s in these spaces where people are returning to the streets and demanding safer driving. An unofficial DIY movement to forge pedestrian-friendly space is creeping up throughout the country. Their instrument of choice? The visual power of public art. Here’s a handful of examples:\r\n

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#1 Paint the Pavement: Asphalt Murals<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n\r\nTaking their cues from City Repair<\/a>\u00a0in\u00a0Portland, Oregon,\u00a0Paint the Pavement (PtP) <\/a> is a “place-making” effort that helps neighborhoods in St. Paul, Minnesota create on-street murals. These community projects are typically plotted at residential intersections. Since 2006, PtP has received Support from the Saint Paul neighborhood group, Hamline Midway Coalition<\/a> and Hamline University.<\/a>Although the group’s website doesn’t expressly target pedestrian safety, they do discuss the relationship between murals and responsible driving:\r\n
Folks who live at the painted intersections say that drivers are more observant and cautious, including themselves. A painted pavement, along with any other visual cues (toys, benches, bird feeders) on or along the road, let passers-by know that it is a lived-in neighborhood where folks know each other and might be outside chatting, playing, or gardening at any time — so they should drive carefully. <\/em><\/blockquote>\r\n